Looking around at the intricate, hand-sewed scenes created by Salley Mavor now on display at the Mariposa Museum, Director Miriam Carter said, “It kind of takes your breath away.”
The exhibit, “Bedtime Stitches and Other Works,” runs through Nov. 1. For information and tickets, go to mariposamuseum.org/location-hours.
Carter says the exhibit of Mavor’s work is a “world-class show.”
“To have this on display right here in Peterborough is kind of amazing,” Carter said.
Mavor, a textile artist, creates detailed, whimsical scenes by hand, one stitch at a time. Most of the exhibit consists of scenes Mavor created for her new children’s book “My Bed: Enchanting Ways to Fall Asleep Around the World.”
Rebecca Bond wrote the text accompanying the illustrations.
It took Mavor two years to create the illustrations for the book, with each page taking three or four months.
The exhibit of Mavor’s work is the first curated by Carter, who started at the Mariposa Museum in winter 2025.
“The scenes are bedrooms from around the world, and they are just enchanting. They are perfect for the Mariposa, as they have a global, multicultural focus,” Carter said. “This is a show for adults and children, and we think everyone will enjoy it.”
Carter said the exhibit, which opened Aug. 1, is the culmination of her first six months as the new director of the Mariposa Museum’s Peterborough location.
“This is kind of my signature exhibit after these first six months. We have a bit of a new look here at the museum, we’ve made some changes, and it looks a little different,” Carter said.
Carter had seen an exhibit of Mavor’s work at the New York State Museum in Albany, and asked Mavor if she could expand the show with other works beyond the illustrations for “My Bed.”
“We had this exhibit at our other location in Oak Bluffs, and I thought I would love to bring it here, and I thought I would also love to do more,” Carter said. “So I spoke to Salley, and she said she would be happy to do more, so this exhibit is scenes from her new books as well as a lot of her other work.”
Mavor also creates work around serious themes. One work, “Cover Up,” displays dozens of tiny, unique female figurines, all with different head coverings and hair styles representing different cultures from around the globe.
“They each have their own unique, individual face. They intention was to show ‘real people with their own imaginations and spirits,’ and they depict the way women all around the world respond to the pressures and expectations around being female,” Carter said.
Carter says Mavor is probably best known for her “wee folk” figurines, which are each unique, each with tiny details ranging from facial features to shoes to jewelry. Her studio is called “Wee Folk Studio.”
“I had someone come in to see the exhibit, and she just could not get over the shoes on the wee folk. Each figurine has their own completely different shoes, socks, clothing, hairstyle, everything,” Carter said.
According to Carter, Mavor is a rarity as an artist, in that her work is not for sale.
“She never sells her work; she only displays it in museums, and mostly small museums like us,” Carter said. “Instead of selling her original works, she finds other ways to share and market them, though children’s books, postcards, puzzles, bookmarks, but all her work is meant to be shared.”
Mavor will be coming to Peterborough at some point during the exhibition for a celebration and formal opening.
The Mariposa Museum, located at 26 Main St. in Peterborough, is open Wednesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.